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Madison Hicks (she/her) holds a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and an MFA in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts. She has received choreographic residencies at Orsolina28, 14StreetY, Chez Bushwick, DanceLabNY, and was a Jacob’s Pillow Ann and Weston Hicks Choreographic Fellow. Madison has been commissioned by universities such as Loyola Marymount, The Fordham Ailey BFA program, Peabody University, University of Texas, and Wayne State University. She has also been commissioned by companies such as Vitacca Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, Avant Chamber Ballet, Mash-Up Contemporary Dance company, Ballet Project OC, and Water Street Dance Milwaukee. Most recently, she worked alongside Tony Yazbeck and Chip Abbott as Associate Choreographer for Manhattan Concert Production of Children of Eden at Lincoln Center.
Madison was also a guest choreographer at The Juilliard School’s Summer Intensive, UNCSA Professional Studies, and MoveNYC in 2023. She was the choreographer for “The Elixir of Love” Opera at Curtis Institute of Music in 2023. She is the Director and Founder of Moving Forward, an innovative Non-Profit Organization for young artists and founded The Moving Forward Collective in 2022, a group of collaborators that present original work across the country. She has presented work at Arts on Site, Boston Dance Festival, LA Dance Festival, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, and others. She has been a guest choreographer for Orange County School of the Performing Arts, Lindenwood University, Booker T. Washington HSPVA Rep II Ensemble, Center of Creative Arts, Houston MET Too, San Diego Civic Center, and The Windward School along with rigorously teaching artists of all ages.
She has been a company member with Sidra Bell Dance New York and LA Dance Project. She has performed works by Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian, Emily Molnar, Kyle Abraham, Ohad Naharin, Peter Chu, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Aszure Barton, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Benjamin Millepied, and Pam Tanowitz.
Madison joined DanceONE’s 24Seven Break The Floor faculty in 2022 and is a faculty member at Steps on Broadway.
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Nicole Hagen (she/her) is a dancer, educator, choreographer, and proud spreadsheet enthusiast. If she is not in the studio rehearsing or crafting movement, you will likely find her in the kitchen, hosting a dinner party, or curled up with a good book and a cat (or two).
Nicole has performed works by Elías Aguirre, Gianna Burright, Genevieve Carson, Roderick George, Madison Hicks, Iker Karrera, Waeli Wang, and WHYTEBERG, among others. Nicole is currently the Rehearsal Director and company dancer for the Moving Forward Collective. She was a company dancer with L.A. Contemporary Dance Company from 2019-2023 and MashUp Contemporary Dance Company from 2017-2023, which provided her the opportunity to perform at iconic venues including LA Dance Project, Ford Theater, Odyssey Theatre, and ODC Theater. Commercially, Nicole's credits include Paramore, NBC’s This Is Us, Banks, and Netflix’s Dear White People.
Choreographically, Nicole’s work has been presented at LA Dance Project, LA Theater Center, McCallum Theatre, Chapman University and American College Dance Association's Screen Dance Festival. She was one of eight choreographers to take part in the Jacob’s Pillow Choreographic Fellowship Program in 2024, has been a two-time finalist at the McCallum Choreography Festival and has been commissioned by Mt. San Antonio College, LMU, and AMDA College.
Beyond dancing and choreographing, Nicole is invested in understanding and contributing to the field of dance and its long-term evolution. She works as an Executive Assistant and Grant Writer for Emily Wanserski and as Company Manager for Moving Forward, merging her administrative expertise with her artistic practice.
Nicole holds a BFA in Dance Performance (with a minor in Business Administration, naturally) from Chapman University. She is on faculty at AMDA College NYC, where she delights in guiding the next generation of artists to discover their unique voices—whether through movement or the shared love of arts advocacy.
Alex Clair
Alysia Johnson
Bombshell Dance Project
Brian Stevens
Christie Lou Partelow
Dana Pajarillaga
Eric Lobenburg
Jess Hendricks
Previous Guest Artists / Faculty
Jillyn Bryant
Joy Bollinger
Kevin Pajarillaga (Co-founder)
Lily Weiss
Maleek Washington
Melissa Anderson
Mykal Stromile
Norbert De La Cruz III
Sarah Padillah
Shadden Hashem
Sidera Bell
Todd Baker
Troy Ogilvie
Yin Yue
Zack Tang
Board Members
Tyler Hicks, Alysia Johnson, Madison Hicks
At Moving Forward Dance, we are deeply thankful for the insight, encouragement, and dedication of our Board of Directors. Their continued support has connected us with inspiring advocates, creative visionaries, and passionate leaders in the arts. Interested in becoming part of our board community? We’d be thrilled to connect. Reach out to us at movingforwarddancecollective@gmail.com.